Damper-regulator.



W. A. KITTS. JR.

DAMPER REGULATOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 1. 1911.

Patented July 16, 1918.

INVENTUR 7%.

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ATQEN e WILLARD A. KITTS, J'Ih, OF MOUNTAIN LAKES, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO KIT'IS STEAM SPECIALTY 00., INCL, OF OSW'EGO, NEVT YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

DAMPER-REGULATOR.

Application filed February 1, 1917.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VVILLARD A. Krrrs, J12, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Mountain Lakes, in the county of Morris, in the State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in Damper-Regulators, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in damper regulators as applied more particularly to steam boilers for automatically n'iaintaining an approximately uniform predetermined steam pressure.

The main object of my present invention to positively open and close one or more draft-controlling dampers of a steam boiler or battery through the medium of one or more hydraulic motors, preferably of the piston type, and to automatically control the operation of said motor or motors by the fluctuations of steam pressure in the boiler above or below a predetermined degree.

Other objects and uses'relating to specific parts of the apparatus will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of an apparatus embodying the various features of my invention, the damper being shown diagrammatically in its normal or open position and by dotted lines in its closed position.

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view takenv on line 22, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view through the pilot valve and its case. p

The entire apparatus is adapted to be made up as a unitary article of manufacture to be easily and quickly installed in the boiler-room or other desired locality where it may be conveniently connected to the boiler and to the damper, and for this purpose comprises a main supporting frame or shelf 1 carrying a pair of hydraulic motors 2 and -3 consisting, in this instance, of coaxial cylinders 4 and -5 arrangedend .to end in spaced relationand on a diametrical line to one side of the diametrical. line through lever -26 and hollow steam-receiving shell -28 and containing suitable pistons 6- and 7- which are connected by a cutout hollow rod Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 16, 1918.

Serial No. 145,898.

or stem 8, as shown more clearly in Fig. 1.

The adjacent ends of the cylinders are preferably open to the atmosphere for reducing to a minimum the resistance to the movement of the pistons toward said ends, the opposite ends of the cylinders being closed by suitable caps 9 and -10 which are rigidly clamped to adjacent endheads 11 of the frame 1 and are provided with relatively small coaxial inlets 12 and 13 for connection, re spectively, with a main supply pipe 14- and a branch supply pipe 15.

The main supply pipe 14 may be connected to any available source of liquid supply under pressure, such for example as a watendistributing system for maintaining a more or less constant pressure in the cylinder 4 and upon the piston 6, tending to force and to hold the latter at the extreme opposite end of its cylinderf The branch pipe -15 leads from the main supply pipe 14 around the cylinders and is connected to the inlet 13- so as to direct the pressure against the corresponding piston '77, tending to move the latter in a direction opposite to that which acts upon the piston 6-.

Connected in the branch pipe 15 is a valve case 16 containing what is commonly known as a pilot valve 17 which not only controls the flow of the motive fluid to the cylinder 5 for operating the corre sponding piston 7, but also controls the exhaust of the motive fluid from said cylinder when the correspondin piston 7- is returned to its normal position by the piston -6- through the medium of the connecting rod 8, as will hereinafter be more fully described.

One section of the branch pipe 15- communicates with a relatively small opening in the bottom of the valve case -16, while the other section communicates with a similarly small opening in one side of the valve case just above the bottom, which latter is provided with a valve seat, against which the lower end of the valve normally rests to control the passage of the motive fluid through the branch conduit 15.

The valve case 16- is suitably secured in an opening in the bottom of an exhaustreceiving tray or cup 18,

Which, in

turn, is rigidly secured to the upper portion of the main supporting frame or shelf 1- so as to surround the upper portion of the valve case.

The upper end of the valve case is closed by a screw cap 19 having a valve seat in its lower end for engagement by the upper end of the yalsve l7-when :the latter is unseated from the lower valve seat in the bottom of the case, said cap being provided with a central lengthwise opening and lateral branch openings 20 surrounded by deflecting plate 21 to allow the escape of the exhaust motix e fluid from the cylinder 5 into the receiving cup or tray 18, from which it gravitates through a pipe 22 into an underlying drainage 7 pan 23, the latter having a pipe -24l Cir leading from the bottom thereof to a sewer or other su table waste pipe, not shown.

The valve 17 is of considerably less cross sectional area than the chamber in the valve case 16, in which it is located, so as to allow ample clearance for the escape of the exhaust fluid from the cylinder --5- and is normally placed under the tension of a spring 25 which serves to lift it from its lower seat in the bottom of the case 16 and to close the passage in the cap 19 when relieved from downward pressure in a manner presently described.

This valve is controlled by steam pressure from the boiler through the medium of a weighted lever 26 and a plunger 27, upon the upper end of which the lever rests, the lower end of the plunger being reduced in diameter to slide freely in a central opening in the cap 1.9 where it rests upon the upper end of the valve 17- to normally hold the latter closed against its lower seat, thereby normally cutting off comn'iunication between the main supply pipe 14 leading to one end of the cylinder land the inlet 13- in the opposite end of the cylinder Secured to the main supporting frame or shelf -1 is a hollow steam-receiving shell 2e containing a diaphragm 29 which divides the chamber into lower and upper compartments, the lower compartment being provided with a steam supply pipe -30 adapted to be onnected to the boiler, not shown, but in which the steam pressure is to be regulated by the automatic regulation of one or more of its dampers as -'a, shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1.

The diaphragm -29 is provided with aI-stem -31 extending upwardly through the upper wall of the shell -2S- and is provided at: its upper. end with ahardened knife edge bearing; against-the lower edge of the adjacent, lever -26. V

The adjacentv end of the lever 26 is provided with hardened knife edge bearings -32 fulcruined in upwardly extending lugs 38- which rise from the upper wall of the shell 2S at one side of the diaphragm stem or plunger 31-.

This lever extends lengthwise of and above the upper face of the main supporting frame 1 and carries suitable Weights VV and W, one of which, as the weight VV- is adjustable lengthwise of and upon the lever to permit a closer regulation of the movement of said lever under a predetermined boiler pressure in the diaphragm case 2S' against the under side of the diaphragm 29 tending to lift the weighted end of said lever.

A pair of wheels 3 lis journaled upon the main supporting frame 1 and project into a cut-out in the upper side of the hollow rod -8-, preferably in vertical aline-ment with the intervening space between the ends of the cylinders 4- and 5,, said'wheels being provided with peripheral annular grooves 35- for receiving damper-operating cables or chains 36 which are passed around the opposite sides of the wheels and in opposite directions from the lower side thereof along the center of the cut-out in the hollow rod 8- and have their ends provided with hooks for engagement with anchor bolts 37 in opposite ends of theconnecting rod or tube 8, said cable being passed over idlers 38 and around a suitable wheel 39' 011 one end of the damper shaft, as l0, so that when the pistons --6 and 7 are moved in one direction orv from their normal positions, the damper a will be shifted from its normal open position to its closed position through the medium of the cables -36, while the return of the pistons to their normal positions will impart a corresponding positive return of the damper to its open position through the same medium.

The cylinders 4c and -'5- are of such length as to allow sufiicient movement of their respective pistons to shift the damper from one extremeposition to the other, but together with their respective pistons are of unequal .area.,that is, the cylinder .5- and its piston 7 is of considerably greater cross sectional area than, in this instance twice, that of the other cylinder and its corresponding piston '6, the purpose of which is to cause the-piston 7 to be moved from its normal position, as

shown in Fig. 1, to its other-extreme posithat the weighted lever 26 is set so as to resist a predetermined steam pressure of, say, eighty pounds per square inch on the diaphragm 29. Then, if the boiler pres sure, as transmitted to the diaphragm -29- is below such predetermined degree, thevalve 17 will be closed against its lower seat by the lever 26, thus cutting off com munication between the main supply pipe M and inlet 13 of the cylinder -5-, thereby allowing the main line pressure in the cylinder 4 to hold both pistons in their extreme inward or normal positions for opening the damper and keeping it open until the boiler pressure exceeds the predetermined degree referred to.

N ow, if the boiler pressure acting upon the diaphragm Q9 exceeds said predetermined pressure, it will flex the diaphragm upwardly, thereby producing a corresponding upward movement of the lever 26 about the fulcrum --32- against the action of the weights lV- and lV' and releasing the pressure of the lever upon the valve 17 so that the spring 25, aided by the water pressure in the branch section of the pipe 15 at the right of the valve, will lift the valve from its lower seat and thereby open communication through the branch pipe from the main sup ply pipe 14 to the inlet 13.

It is now clear that the same pressure per square inch is'acting in opposite directions upon both pistons .6- and -7, but owing to the fact that the piston 7 is of considerably greater area than that of the piston 6, the pressure acting thereon will cause both pistons to be moved from their normal positions toward the opposite ends of their respective cylinders, which movement, in turn, will be transmitted to the damper a through the medium of the cable 36-- and its connection withthe rod 8- to close said damper and to hold it closed until the boiler pressure in the diaphragm shell 2S is less than the pre determined degree referred to, whereupon the weights on the lever -2G- will restore the latter to its normal position to close the valve l7 against its lower seat for cutting off communication between the main passage 14: and inlet 13 of the cylinder 5.

lVhen the valve l7 is closed in the manner just described, communication is still maintained between the inlet -13- and valve chamber of the case l6 through the medium of the corresponding section of the branch pipe 15, thereby placing the adjacent end of the cylinder 5 in direct communication with the exhaust ports 20.

Now, with the high pressure fluid to the piston 7' cut off and the inlet 13- connected with the exhaust ports 20 in the manner just described, it is evident that the high pressure fluid acting upon the smaller piston 6- will restore both pistons and damper to their normal positions, and that the fluid in advance of the larger piston 7 will be forced out through the adjacent section of the branch pipe 15 and exhaust ports -20 into the receiver l8, from which it escapes through the pipe 22 to the drainage pan 23 and thence to the waste pipe, not shown, through the drainage outlet 2l.

These operations are repeated as often as the diaphragm pressure in the valve case fluctuates above or below the predetermined degree at which the weighted lever 26 is set. V

It is, of course, obvious that when downward pressure upon the valve 17 is released to open communication between the main, supply pipe and cylinder 5-, said valve will be closed against the upper seat to out off communication between said cylinder and the exhaust ports, the movement of the valve being limited to a very small degree, just sufiicient to open either port at the opposite ends thereof when closing the other port, such movement being regulated by the adjustment of-the screw cap l9.

Although I have shown and described this device as applied to the operation of a draft damper, it is evident that it may be used for positively opening or closing any other kind of a valve which maybe capable of regulating steam pressure of a boiler, or that of any other fluid-pressure-producii1g device without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a damper regulator, the combina tion of a pair of hydraulic motors having rigidly connected coaxial pistons of unequal diameter for operating the damper, means for supplying fluid under pressure to one end of the smaller motor, a ivy-pass loading from the supply pipe around said motors to the opposite end of the larger motor and including therein a valve case having a selfopening valve controlling the flow of the fluid under pressure through the by-pass, weight-operated means for closing the valve, and steam-pressure operated means for operating the first-named means against the action of its weight to release and permit the opening of the valve.

2. In a damper regulator, the combination of a pair of hydraulic motors having rigidly connected coaxial pistons of unequal diameter for operating the damper, means for supplying fluid under pressure to one end of the smaller motor, a by-pass leading from the supply pipe around said motors to the opposite end of the larger motor and including therein a valve case having a self-opening valve controlling the flow of the fluid under pressure through the bypass, Weightoperating means for closing the valve, and steam-pressure operated means for operating the first-named means against the action of its weight to release and permit the opening of the valve, said valve case having an exhaust port and a second ary valve controlling the same, said secondary valve being closed by the opening of the first-named valve and opened by said weight-operated means, the portion of the bypass leading from the valve to the larger motor being in open communication with the exhaust port when the first-named valve is closed.

3. In a damper regulator for steam boilers, a pair of opposed piston motors having their pistons of unequal area and connected for simultaneous action by means of a piston rod having a cut-outi-n one side, grooved pulleys extending into said cut-out and adjusted to work in opposite directions, means for supplying a motive fluid under pressure to both motors for operating the pistons, means for transmitting motion from the pistons to the dam-per, and means controlled by steam pressure from the boiler for cutting ofl the supply to the larger motor when said pressure is at or below a certain degree and for admitting said supply when the pressure is above said degree.

l. In a damper regulator for steam boilers, a pair of opposed piston motors having their pistons of unequal area and connected for simultaneous action by means of a hollow piston rod having a lengthwise cut-out in one side, a pair of grooved pulleys projecting into said cut-out near the longitudinal center of the hollow rod and adjusted to work in opposite directions, a damper having a wheel thereon, cables attached to 4'0 said wheel and extending through the cutout around the under side of the grooved WILLARD A. KITTS, JR.

Witnesses V V V SAMUEL WEISIK, M. I. C. JORDAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtalineil for live cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

- Washington, D. G. 

